


The Fighter

by jsaint34



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jsaint34/pseuds/jsaint34
Summary: In the notes for Chapter 39 of my story Battlefield I lamented that writer's block was driving me crazy while at the same time giving me all sorts of ideas to write about.  This is one of those ideas that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.  This is coming from three days of work and is inspired by the song The Fighter written by Keith Urban. Ryan Busbee and Michael James, performed by Keith and Carrie Underwood on his CD Ripcord.  The title comes from the song and this is just unapologetic fluff.  Takes place post Civil War in the what has Natasha been doing after she helped Steve and Bucky escape scenario and she left Tony.  Similar to my story Ghosts of War, but this time she didn't come looking for Steve, he had to go find her.  As always I don't own characters and the plot is mine, and no infringement was intended in the writing of this story with any stories from Marvel or from other author's on here.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aletheakatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletheakatherine/gifts).



> In the notes for Chapter 39 of my story Battlefield I lamented that writer's block was driving me crazy while at the same time giving me all sorts of ideas to write about. This is one of those ideas that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. This is coming from three days of work and is inspired by the song The Fighter written by Keith Urban. Ryan Busbee and Michael James, performed by Keith and Carrie Underwood on his CD Ripcord. The title comes from the song and this is just unapologetic fluff. Takes place post Civil War in the what has Natasha been doing after she helped Steve and Bucky escape scenario and she left Tony. Similar to my story Ghosts of War, but this time she didn't come looking for Steve, he had to go find her. As always I don't own characters and the plot is mine, and no infringement was intended in the writing of this story with any stories from Marvel or from other author's on here.

Natasha Romanoff is on the run again. Throughout her life as the Black Widow she had been feared by her enemies and respected by those who trusted her. Though those who trusted her and she trusted in return she could count on one hand. She was as beautiful as she was deadly. For years she had only relied on herself until that one fateful day where her life was spared by the first man she trusted. Clint Barton was unpredictable and an excellent marksman. He had every opportunity to take the shot, but he spared her life. He even helped give her a new life when he brought her back to SHIELD. They became partners and friends. Aside from Nick Fury, she was the only person in the world who knew about Clint’s family. Though she was making friends, she still kept herself from forming any deeper attachments; specifically love. Since she was a child, the tenet: Love is for children had been ingrained in her by her handlers in the Red Room. From one of her safe houses, she made a call she had been holding off on making.

“Is the weather in Sochi warm this time of year?”

Asking about Sochi was always the question he asked her when he got a call from this specific number on the burner phone she had given him after the mission in Budapest. The number was only to be used in case either one of them was compromised.

“I’m on a secure line. Where are you now; Clint?”

“In the wind. Through some old connections I got Laura and the kids to my last protected safe house in Ireland. This was after your boyfriend got us all out of the RAFT.”

“The boy scout is not my boyfriend, Barton.”

“Whatever you say, Mom. Where are you?”

Natasha knew Clint had been the one to coin her and Steve as Mom and Dad to the rest of the new Avengers. While she found it funny, Steve was more than embarrassed the first time he heard it coming from Wanda and Sam. But she had been the one to first use the boy scout as Steve’s alias for these calls. Ever since they met, she had felt an attraction to the soldier from the past, but always refused to let herself get close. In just two short years, the two of them had been through more tense situations than she and Clint had in five. Then the fall of SHIELD happened and they only had each other to rely on. This is why she barely heard Clint’s question as she thought about the most important question she had ever asked Steve.

“If it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?”

“I would now, and I’m always honest.”

That one statement told Natasha that her instincts about Steve Rogers had been right on the money. But it also told her that he was just as attracted to her as she was to him. But in the end, she still left. Her covers were blown and after a year she came back, then ULTRON happened. As usual; Tony couldn’t control his ego, and his desire to protect Pepper and the world would override whatever better judgement he still had. This was just the latest in a long line of events that began the crafting of what would become the Sokovia Accords. The Chitauri, the fall of SHIELD, HYDRA rising, all of it made the United Nations consider that the Avengers, any super-humans were in need of oversight. But it was Lagos that put the Accords into motion. The Avengers were shattered, with Tony, Rhodes, Vision and Natasha being the last of them to sign. Steve, Sam, Clint and Wanda stood in opposition. And at an airport in Germany Steve and Nat were face to face once again.

“You’re not going to stop are you?”

“You know I can’t.”

“I’m going to regret this.”

Natasha defended Steve and Bucky to let them escape while she delayed T’Challa. She knew her actions would have an adverse effect on her life considering she signed the Accords. But she still needed to do what was right. She had wanted the team to stay together because it was the only family she had. Despite this, she couldn’t let the man she cared so much about get arrested, which brings her back to the present and Clint’s question.

“Where are you now?”

“On the run. After I helped Steve and Barnes escape, I became a fugitive as well. So far I’ve been able to stay three steps ahead of Ross, and I’m going to have to keep moving.”

“Be safe, and call me if you ever need to.”

“You can bet I will.”

Natasha was just about to hang up the phone, Clint could sense it, but she stopped when she heard him speak up one more time.

“And when this is all over, be sure to get in contact with Steve again. He wouldn’t shut up about you after he broke us out.”

“Who did you think got him in, and still kept her involvement off the record?”

When the line disconnected, Natasha took one last look at herself in the mirror of her hotel room bathroom. She had dyed her hair blonde and began wearing blue contact lenses to cover her green eyes. Her disguise had been enough to keep her from being spotted. The next few months would be the toughest because as she traveled the world she couldn’t stop thinking about Steve. Clint had seen it since the beginning, but no matter how bad she wanted to be with the soldier, her rationalization was that it was just too dangerous for the both of them. 

While Natasha was on the run, Steve had taken asylum in Wakanda after T’Challa promised to protect Bucky. The Avengers had been split up and he missed his family. For their safety, he kept himself in the dark on their whereabouts. He had been able to break them out of the RAFT thanks to a message from an unknown number. It contained the easiest access points into the prison, and the best ways to avoid the guards. He suspected the message came from Natasha, but he couldn’t reply for fear of compromising her. Even now he was kicking himself for his kiss with Sharon when his heart belonged to a stubborn fiery redhead.

“Should have asked her to stay after SHIELD. Should have told her how I felt then. If I had…”

Steve tried to turn his thoughts away from that moment. He had watched Natasha interact with Bruce and once again thought he had missed his chance. He went back to calling her Romanoff as opposed to Nat, and accepted that all they were ever going to be was partners. Then Bruce left, he wanted to be angry at the scientist but they were friends. And it killed him to see her retreat back to the cold persona she had before, feeling that he couldn’t do anything to comfort her. 

But when she comforted him at Peggy’s funeral and helped him escape, he regained some of that hope for a future. The months passed without a word from her and he had grown restless. Bucky was safe so Steve took some time to go back out into the world after growing a beard and dying both it and his hair a dark shade of brown. He was in Tuscany when a call came through.

“Brooklyn is cold right now. And the green on the trees is mixed with blue tinsel.”

Steve knew as soon as he heard those words that Clint was on the other end of the line. It was a code they had worked out after the escape if the archer ever received word from Natasha.

“I prefer the green with red ribbon, that way it feels more like Christmas. I’m on a secure line.”

“Thought I’d let you know that I heard from Mom. She’s been on the run; Dad…”

“So she’s safe then?”

“No, Boy Scout…she’s not.”

“Tell me.”

Clint had been recording the call he received from Natasha the last time he heard from her. Everything had been normal for the first few minutes when an overly gruff Russian accent cut her off. He knew this would worry Steve but he still had to play the call.

“Natalia Romanova…you thought you could escape. We just count ourselves lucky that we got to you before the American Government could.”

The voices fell silent to be replaced by the sounds of battle. With his enhanced hearing Steve could tell that Natasha was being attacked by too many soldiers. She was on her own with no back up and though she was the Black Widow, the sheer numbers would eventually wear her down. This did happen and the soldier heard her agonizing scream mixed with the sound of some sort of electric shock. Hearing all of this as a recording terrified him, he had no doubts Clint was in worse shape because he heard it all happening live.

“St-St-Ste…”

Steve heard her voice stuttering out his name before hearing what sounded like a thud against a wall. There was no more sound after that and Clint came back on the line.

“She’s in trouble Cap. She’s going to need our help.”

“Tell me you have something on where she is?”

“Got it, tracked the coordinates before the line disconnected. The trail is getting cold though.”

“Then her phone was destroyed. We may not…”

“Don’t even think like that. She’s alive. I know it. And her phone is still transmitting.”

“Then it’s a trap.”

“Cap…,”

“I didn’t say we weren’t going after her. But it might be something I need to do alone.”

“No. She’s my sister. I have every right to be there, I know you won’t make the mistake of thinking you’re the only man who cares for Natasha. How do you think she would feel if you got killed trying to rescue her?”

“Barton…your family…”

“Would never forgive me if something happened. Face it Spangles…you need me.”

“Fine, send me the coordinates. But just you and me are going. Can’t involve the rest of the team.”

Clint disconnected the call and texted the current location of Natasha’s burner phone. Steve quickly packed his gear wishing he still had his shield, but he left it in Siberia with Tony, knowing that he wasn’t Captain America anymore. He had made the decision to go alone and when he told T’Challa of his plans, the King would have none of it.

“You will not go alone Captain. You are under my protection, and therefore my responsibility.”

“But Natasha isn’t your responsibility. She risked her freedom for me and Bucky. This situation she’s in, it’s all my fault.”

“I am afraid I must also bear the responsibility. My actions in divulging what she did to Secretary Ross led to her going on the run. If she is in danger, then it is my fault as well.”

“I suppose there’s no chance at talking you out of this?”

“None.”

Steve didn’t argue the point any further and accompanied T’Challa towards his private hangar where the jet he had flown to Siberia was waiting. To his credit, the King also provided Steve with protective tactical gear as they were going into battle. In an undisclosed location, Clint was prepping for his own flight and managed to get in contact with Fury.

“It’s very risky for you to be contacting me like this Barton. You stood against the Accords with Rogers…”

“I did what I had to. Tony had…”

“And I respect your decision. Still, Ross could be on to you and if they discover I’m still alive…”

“Nick…Natasha’s in trouble. She needs my-our help.”

Fury fell silent, not only had Clint just called him by his first name, something he had never done before, but Natasha was like a daughter to the former Director of SHIELD. He wasn’t going to stand by and let whoever had her do their worst.

“All right Barton, I’ve still got some pull left. I’ll get in touch with some of my old contacts. Send me your coordinates through a secure channel and a jet will come get you.”

Clint set up another secure connection as the last one had nearly led Ross right to him. He escaped but this time it was more than just his life at stake. With Fury on board he knew that despite Steve wanting it to just be the two of them, they’d have all the backup they need.

Natasha was waking up from the sedatives her captors had injected into her system. She had been moved from room to room by them and could barely register the passage of time. As she regained her senses she could tell she was handcuffed into an old rickety wooden chair. She didn’t know where she was, or how long she’d been there, but her first plan was to get the information she needed when whoever her assailant was came to get the information he would need. She wasn’t kept waiting long as the door opened and he walked in.

“You are awake…this is good. Your guard heard you stirring and contacted me.”

“Just like a good little stooge. Why have you…”

“No. Do you know where you are?”

“Currently, I’m looking at the most pathetic excuse for a human being I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Natasha’s insult angered her captor and he hit her across the face with a strong backhand. The strike was so violent she tasted blood from where her teeth cut into her cheek.

“Agent Romanova, you are currently at my mercy. It would be wise for you to not challenge me again. As I was saying; you have been brought back to Russia to pay for your crimes against your homeland. You defected from the Red Room and joined SHIELD. I must wonder…what secrets did you tell the Americans about the program that made you.”

“It doesn’t matter, the Red Room was destroyed long ago…you’re not a threat.”

“On the contrary, the wolves are never more dangerous than when they are within the pack.”

“Cryptic. But you’re not going to get any information from me. You do know you’re wasting your time.”

“Perhaps, but you should know that the Red Room did survive. And our influence is far greater now than it has ever been. Unlike the great white shark, we had to evolve. Think wisely about your next course of action Black Widow…no one is coming to rescue you.”

Natasha was left alone as her captor closed the door. His threat was blatant and completely obvious. But she knew his overconfidence would get the better of him. She had been on the phone with Clint when she was attacked, and knew he heard her partially stutter Steve’s name. She knew it was only a matter of time before he came for her; she just hoped he didn’t go all white knight and make this a solo mission.

Four days passed by though she didn’t know it since she had been locked in a room with no windows. Every day her captor came back and their chess game of who would crack first continued. Neither of them would reveal what they knew and every time Natasha got defiant she was beaten. She’d been through worse before so she knew she would survive this. By what she was informed was the fifth morning of her captivity she had a black eye, two bruised and two broken ribs, but she still hadn’t cracked. As her unknown captor began to show her the various knives he would be using next, explosions began to sound all around the compound.

“Go…find out what is going on. If someone has come to rescue her, stop them!”

The three guards that had been overseeing Natasha immediately rushed for the main entrance to assist their comrades. Inside her cell, Natasha adopted a confident smirk as her interrogator turned back to face her.

“All this time and you truly believed no one was coming to rescue me? It seems this new evolution of the Red Room hasn’t learned anything. If you let me go, you’ll save yourself a whole lot of trouble when my ride gets here.”

“When they do, Widow, all they will find is your broken body. If I have run out of time, so have you.”

Outside the compound the three guards had joined the fray to find only three men in the middle of an attack. At first they had been confused as to why so many of their brothers had fallen in battle if just these three were the cause of the destruction. Then they heard the bullets being fired and watched more of the defending guards go down. In that instant the guards realized that these men had some sort of backup. Two of the men were on the ground taking their enemies down left and right while the third was situated on the guard tower firing off arrows at any enemy who got close enough. From his vantage point he saw the door open and knew that this was their shot.

“Cap…Panther…we’ve got an entry point. I’ll keep you covered…GO!”

Steve and T’Challa took off as fast as they could, both of them plowing over the guards that attempted to stop their forward motion. Steve punched and kicked his way through while T’Challa was no less impressive than when he chased Bucky on his motorcycle through the motorway on foot. When they cleared the courtyard, ten more guards stood in their way as they entered the compound. They only stopped long enough with guns pointed at them to briefly speak.

“There is no turning back now, Captain.”

“That was never an option. High or low?”

“Low.”

Steve jumped towards the guards and flipped over their heads as T’Challa moved with all the grace and speed of his animal namesake. The Black Panther was a force not to be reckoned with as he took his enemies down two at a time, avoiding bullets every time one of them got a shot off. With the path clear Steve bolted down the hallway to where his tracker was telling him Natasha was. He was running so fast he had to skid to a stop as he passed a closed door. Inside he heard muffled voices. He could barely tell what they were saying, but he knew one of them was clearly female. He didn’t know what was going on in there, but he started pounding on the door nonetheless.

“What was that you said about no one coming to rescue me?”

Natasha’s smirk got even more confident as her captor’s eyes widened in fear. He knew he really was out of time as the pounding on the door only became more intense. In an act of desperation he lunged at the Widow with the knife he had in hand. He missed his mark as she rolled the chair backwards. It cracked under her weight with the force she used despite her injuries. Though she still had the inconvenience of being handcuffed she was free from the other restraints and jumped back to her feet. In that moment she fought back, outmaneuvering her opponent and dodging his sloppy attacks every time he thought he had the upper hand. From the other side of the door, Steve could hear the sounds of fighting and stepped back as far as he could before hitting break neck speed, and knocking the door free from its hinges. 

He fell with it and looked up as Natasha took a leap towards her now distracted enemy. Steve had seen this move of hers countless times before and had even been felled by it in their sparring sessions. He could only watch as he picked himself up while Natasha was bringing the man down. Her attack lasted less than ten seconds as he dropped to his knees and she snapped his neck. When she stood up she looked towards the door where Steve was standing.

“You need to lose the beard Rogers.”

“Why, I think it makes me look more…”

Natasha’s smirk faltered as the adrenaline from her fight wore off. Steve was across the room quickly and picked her up bridal style just before her knees buckled. When he had one arm secured around her waist and the other under her knees, she wrapped her own arms around his neck.

“You’re going to be okay Nat; I’m going to get you out of here.”

The spy was now safely supported by Steve’s arms so she leaned her head against his shoulder while she struggled to catch her breath. Her breathing had become erratic because she had cracked two more ribs when she rolled the chair to break it. As he carried her she whispered out the best teasing line she could think of.

“My hero.”

As Steve walked the corridors he came across the fallen bodies of Natasha’s captors. T’Challa had done well and his abilities still amazed the super-soldier every time he saw him in battle. When he reached the entrance the King was standing there looking confident and he didn’t even have a scratch on him. More guards were lying around the courtyard having been decimated by the incursion. Clint was still on the guard tower and had an arrow ready to fire when he saw Steve carrying a blonde woman that he had no doubt was Natasha. The mission had been accomplished so he jumped down and landed on the still cloaked Quinjet before it came into view.

“Are we good?”

“We’re done here. Natasha needs medical attention though. Let’s go.”

Natasha had passed out so she couldn’t object to Steve’s suggestion of medical care like she normally would. When they were all situated inside and she was secured to a gurney the jet lifted off for the short flight back to the Helicarrier. From there, they had only one destination in mind. They were all still fugitives, and when she briefly regained consciousness Steve was still by her side.

“Steve…”

“Don’t Nat…save your…”

“Where are we going?”

“Wakanda. We’ll be safe there.”

Natasha passed out again and didn’t feel the jet lifting off from the Helicarrier. Nick had stopped in before they left to give Steve and Clint the files he had acquired from his contacts about Natasha’s captors. While she was being tended to, the soldier and the archer quickly perused the intelligence and were left in both anger and shock. The people who had abducted Natasha were not who they said they were, and there was someone even more desperate to catch her behind their actions. The only thing Clint and Steve couldn’t decide was who would be the one to tell her.

Days passed with Natasha in the I.C.U. inside T’Challa’s private medical wing of the palace. She had undergone several thorough examinations of the injuries she had sustained. Steve and Clint traded shifts of watching over her as she slept through her recovery. Eventually Steve was left to look after her when Clint took a short leave to bring his family from Ireland because they would be safer in Wakanda. T’Challa had arranged for that flight as well, and once again he refused to let any of them be in his debt. He really did just want to do the right thing as his Father would have.

After a week and a half, Natasha began to wake. Most of the wounds from her ordeal had healed but her ribs were still wrapped and tender. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, hazily taking in her surroundings. She knew from the smells of antiseptic and the beeping of the heart rate monitor that she was in a hospital. It took a few moments for her memories to regain coherence, but when they did she remembered the fight, and Steve…, he had carried her out of the Red Room compound. Now she tried to sit up, a stabbing pain reminding her of her broken ribs. Her movements startled the dozing super-soldier who was sitting at her bedside.

“Nat…you…you’re…”

“Relax Rogers; I’m not that easy to get rid of. And yes, I’m awake. So; what did I miss?”

“Clint and T’Challa helped with your rescue, apparently Fury did as well.”

“Even after all this time, he’s still got a soft spot for me. Bet he brought the old Helicarrier out of mothballs again.”

“Yeah…yeah he did…”

Natasha could tell that something was seriously bothering Steve, she could feel it as well as see it in his eyes. She knew it only had partially to do with the fact that she had been captured, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let him hide it from her.

“Okay Steve, tell me about it. What did Fury find out about my abductors? How did they know who I was under the blonde hair and blue contacts…that I’m apparently still wearing?”

“Your eye was swollen shut, we couldn’t…”

“Don’t stall…just tell me what you know.”

“The people who abducted you…they weren’t from a revitalized Red Room.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that one out on my own. Their technique was sloppy, but they were Russian.”

“Yes, and from what Fury was able to dig up, Ross had been keeping tabs on you. He expected you’d try to throw him off with a change of hair color, so he called in his contacts in Russia…”

“Where the Black Widow has a reputation and is quite well known.”

“This doesn’t bother you?”

“No, it’s the life I’ve lived. We all have enemies.”

“But Nat…”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Steve, there’s something more important we need to talk about…”

“Later, you should get some rest…”

“No, this can’t wait. What did you tell Bruce before ULTRON happened?”

Natasha locked her currently blue eyes on him, and Steve knew he was busted. He would always be honest with her and he knew he wasn’t going to make it out of her room without answering her question.

“I told him that as the world’s leading authority on waiting too long, he shouldn’t wait.”

“I see…why?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Why?”

“Because I thought that’s what you wanted. And I only wanted you to be happy. Nat…you…more than any of us, deserved a win.”

“You are dense, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Steve…why do you think I stayed with you on that falling city? Why do you think I was still there a year later? And Peggy’s funeral, I couldn’t let you be alone. Do you know why?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”

“Shut up…it wasn’t Bruce that I really wanted. He wasn’t there when I was falling after SHIELD. You were…”

“And you told me to go after Sharon when you left…”

“Because I couldn’t be the person you needed right then. And I was just as dense as you in that regard. But these past months…being on the run after I helped you and Barnes escape…I got mad at you because you weren’t there…”

“Not by choice…”

“Are you going to let me finish? I was really mad at myself…because I couldn’t help but think…what if I fall?”

“I won’t let you fall.”

“I wondered a lot of what ifs right then…and I don’t want to anymore. I was scared of love, I don’t want to be scared of it anymore either. I told Bruce I didn’t want a fighter…I wanted someone who wouldn’t fight because he knew he would win…”

“I see…”

“But I was wrong…I need a fighter…someone who will stand up with me, and stand up to me. I want to believe that’s you.”

“Nat…”

“And now is the time you tell me you’re with Sharon and can’t be what I need like I couldn’t be for you after the fall of SHIELD…if that’s what you’re going to say…”

“Nat…shut up.”

Knowing that he still had to be mindful of her injuries, Steve leaned down over Natasha, gently running a hand through her hair and lifting her head to place a chaste kiss against her lips. She could feel everything he wanted to say in that kiss and tried to pull him back after he broke the kiss. Though she still wanted the feel of his lips on hers, she wasn't done teasing him yet.

“Natasha…I won’t let you fall, and I promise I’ll never make you cry. Remember, I’m always honest.”

“Steve…”

“Yes?”

“Kiss me again…”

Steve leans in one more time to grant her request but she stops him with a finger to his lips. Confusion crosses his features and Natasha can only smirk at the sudden awkwardness he is now exhibiting.

“…but not until you shave the beard.”


End file.
